Rin-Ne, Vol. 2: Ride the Wheel of Reincarnation!

Apparently the life of a shinigami is rife with problems -- you have to deal with the supernatural problems of any crazy ghost that comes your way. And Rumiko Takahashi tackles three different ones in the second volume of "Rin-Ne," which relies on pleasant light humor and the introduction of a devilish rival. It's not the intense experience of "Inuyasha," but it's a fun ride. The ghost of a dead samurai is stalking one of Sakura's classmates, believing that she is the reincarnation of his fiancee. Unfortunately, he gets grabby with the girl and ends up being chased by Rinne, while Sakura and Rokumon go shopping for a mirror that can reveal the preincarnations of a person. Can they find the princess's reincarnation and send the samurai on his afterlifey way before Rinne goes broke? Then Sakura sees the ghost of a girl assaulting swimmers in the pool, which is said to be haunted. Rinne gets involved, but discovers that the girl doesn't admit to having any lingering regrets -- and when they try to help her out, she gets violent. And finally, the spirit of a comatose boy is pestering and assaulting his girlfriend. It turns out he's being manipulated and corrupted by a bat-winged devil Misato, who has a very nasty grudge against Rinne; when Rinne chases Misato into hell to recapture the boy's soul, Sakura and Rokudo go in search of what could heal him. Unfortunately, Misato has a scheme to trap Rinne in hell forever... and only a schoolgirl, a kitten and a debit card can help. If "Ranma 1/2" and "Bleach" got together and had a baby, that baby would probably be "Rin-Ne." And while Rumiko Takahashi's latest hasn't yet got the charm of her previous two series, it has a lot of promise -- especially now that she's introduced the main cast, settled them into place, and is now adding rivals and antagonists (namely Misato, a manipulative demon who gets beaten senseless by a cross-wielding Rinne). Takahashi also lavishes it with a lot of financial humor and ghostly woes that require a little unraveling to figure out (guess who the princess's reincarnation is!). It also has a wild rollicking ride through hell -- which turns out to be a rather bizarrely normal place, except with lots of financial debt, oni cops, suburbs and an endless mass. And while the multilayered confrontation between Rinne and Misato is rather tense and suspenseful, Rokudo and Sakura's misadventures keep it light ("Wanna buy some land?"). While it's not terribly obvious just yet, there are some faint hints of potential romance between Sakura and Rinne, especially when she makes him a lunch in a jewelry box. And we see just how far Rinne will go to save a person's (or rabbit's) soul. And Rokudo is so cute that you just want to squish him -- a mischievous little kitten who's worked out the ideal way of getting revenge (and food). The series is still in the process of flowering, but taken by itself, "Rin-Ne Volume 2" is an entertaining little manga. Now bring on the love triangle!